


The Black Sky and All those Lights

by AdAstra09



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Insecure Will, M/M, but nico fixes it, nico can read will like a book, percy is percy, sexual tension is sexy, there is a swordfight and then they make out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-25 02:06:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9797708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdAstra09/pseuds/AdAstra09
Summary: Nico made a frustrated noise and crossed the room to Will. Will leaned back but Nico leaned forward until their lips were only a hairsbreath away, closing his hand behind Wills neck.. “Want to try that again?” he invited pleasantly. His hands scraped gently at the hairs on the back of Will’s neck and Will shuddered.The stretcher legs scraped against the floor as Austin hastily stood up. “Um, I am just gonna-”Will barely heard him as his body went hazy with pleasure. He tipped his head back. “Nico…”Nico’s teeth scraped gently down his throat. “Yes, il mio uccello canoro ? Talk to me.” His mouth curved against the hollow of Will’s throat as Will moaned and arched against him. “Or sing for me.”





	

The first time Will sees Nico and Percy sparring, he stumbles over his own feet. Nico is as swift and deadly as a cobra, his shadows dripping off him like ink and his sword glowing as fiercely as his smile. Percy meets him blow for blow, the falling rain glinting silver in the fading sun and curling around him in sensuous waves. Will looks at his ordinary bow and arrow and suddenly feels sick. He turns to leave and makes it two steps before Nico calls out to him.  
“Hey, Solace! I thought you wanted to practice!”  
Turning, Will forces a smile. Nico’s eyes narrow and he holds up his hand to Percy, before crossing to Will. “What’s wrong,” he asks flatly. “Is this about the shadows? Because you cleared me-”  
“I know,” Will says hastily. “Everything’s great!” he adds loudly. Too loudly. For the love of the Gods, where is a convenient wall to bang his head against.  
He pastes back his head-camper-everythings-under-control-we-can reattach-this-arm-no problem smile. It is a good smile. His favorite. It has gotten him through losing two brothers, several wars and at one embarrassing and bloody date with a cute barista/demonic entity. The smile has many the brilliant effect of the sunrise. But Nico has always been able to see shadows. His eyebrow raises.  
“You two look good together.” He blurts out. The eyebrow raises higher. “Sparring I mean. You look perfect.” Now the other eyebrow joins the first. “But don’t over-do it. You could always relapse,” he adds hastily, trying to salvage what’s left of his dignity.  
Nico is staring at him in that way he has of peering straight past Will and into his soul. He says nothing. Will clears his throat and jerks his head to the infirmary. “I should probably check on Austin and see if he needs any help.”  
“I thought the infirmary was empty.”  
“All the more reason for me to help. Constant vigilance” he adds halfheartedly, then gives a thumbs up.  
What. the. Hell.  
He stares at his thumb and for the first time, wishes he could shadow travel so he could literally drop straight into the center of the earth. His shoulders slump and he turns back to the infirmary, ignoring the feel of Nico’s eyes on him.   
Austin looks up in surprise with he comes in, but swallows whatever he is about to say when he sees the look on Will’s face. Wordlessly, he breaks half the chocolate bar he was eating and gives it to Will. “It’s dead in here. Want to put the quarantine sign up and go watch Rock of Ages?  
“Yes,” Will says with quiet relief.  
Tom Cruise is belting out “Don’t stop believing” and both Will and Austin are pretending not to tear up when the shadows part and Nico steps out. Austin yelps and nearly falls off the stretcher he is sitting on. Nico ignores him, his eyes on Will. “You want to explain what that was about back there?”  
“Nothing,” Will says weakly. “I had to help Austin.”  
“Yeah,” Austin jumped in, raising his voice to be heard over Mary J. Blige. “We have important, health related tests to run here. And potions to make to keep people healthy The sun never set on the Apollo cabin’s work.” don’t stop believing. Hold onto that feeling the television croons in emphasis.   
Nico made a frustrated noise and crossed the room to Will. Will leaned back but Nico leaned forward until their lips were only a hairsbreath away, closing his hand behind Wills neck.. “Want to try that again?” he invited pleasantly. His hands scraped gently at the hairs on the back of Will’s neck and Will shuddered.  
The stretcher legs scraped against the floor as Austin hastily stood up. “Um, I am just gonna-”  
Will barely heard him as his body went hazy with pleasure. He tipped his head back. “Nico…”  
Nico’s teeth scraped gently down his throat. “Yes, il mio uccello canoro ? Talk to me.” His mouth curved against the hollow of Will’s throat as Will moaned and arched against him. “Or sing for me.”   
Will stared blindly at the ceiling, barely noticing the words falling out of his mouth. “I just didn’t think you’d be interested in me. After Percy.” Nico stilled against him and he froze in horror. “I mean for the sparring. You can’t possibly want to fumble around with me and a sword with Percy right there.”  
Nico raised his head and looked at him levelly. “For the sake of this conversation, we’ll pretend you are actually talking about sparring.” Will flushed and Nico continued. “I will happily ‘fumble’ around with you with a sword all day if you like.”  
“I-” Will swallowed. “I know. It’s just-”hard to remember with him right there. Not that WIll didn’t like Percy. He did. He was a great guy, if a little immature when not actively saving the world. But still. It was hard to ignore all of his-heroe-ness-when it was right there swirling the rain into tidal waves.  
Nico hmmed against his throat and Will bit his lip against the vibration, reminding himself that Austin was in the next room. “I get it. If I ever met your first crush, I would go a little crazy too.”  
Will laughed. “Well, my first love tried to set me on fire for choosing decalf over expresso, so…”  
Nico gave him a look. “And someday I want to hear that story.” He looked down and added quietly, “ I do understand, you know. Being angry and frustrated at the world and wanting to hide. But in the future, I would...prefer...if you came to me and hid with me instead of away from me.”  
“I...okay. I don’t ever really want to be away from you anyway,” Will mumbled.   
“Good.” Nico straightened. “Now that that is out of the way, I have the afternoon sparring demonstration to finish.” Standing, he pulled off his leather jacket and tossed it on the stretcher. “Can I borrow your shirt?” he asked, nodding at the plaid shirt Will had over his camp half-blood t-shirt.  
“Um, why?” Will said, already shrugging it off and handing it over.  
Nico tugged it on over his black t-shirt. “Every warrior needs a good luck charm. And I have discovered I like fighting with the scent of summer in my nose.” Will flushed from his chest to his ears and Nico smirked as he shadow traveled back to the arena  
a/n head-canony things: Nico calls Will his songbird for reasons that will be explained in a sequel if anyone is interested. Nico wears Will’s shirt every time he spars with Percy, and Will blushes bright red every time he sees it. Nico was reticent about touch at first, but once he grew comfortable with the fact that WIll never, ever denied him touch and in fact, melted under his attention, he quickly got to know Will and his body well.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Richard Siken "Litany in Which Certain Things Are Crossed Out" If you haven't read it, walk, don't run and google it.  
> Comments and kudos encourage me to write the sequel of why Nico calls Will songbird


End file.
